Ya ever have one of those adventures that simultaneously seemed like it lasted forever as well as sped by in the blink of an eye? My life with God Complex Radio has been like this for me. From that initial Twitter DM conversation about “a crazy idea” to live broadcasts on BlogTalkRadio to hitting the jumping into the podcast world, this has been a wonderful ride.

But alas, the time has come for me to shift my energies in different directions – most importantly to my local congregation and my family – and step back and see what new and exciting things are in store for Carol, Landon and the rest of the God Complex Radio Crew. There has been no scandal, no internal fighting and no, contrary to popular belief, I have not been called up to play shortstop next year for the Oakland A’s . . . but I’m waiting What has happened is that Landon and Carol are putting in gobs of time and mental energy about the future of the show and I simply cannot keep up. So rather than have them slow down for me, I am stepping back so the show can zoom forward! You all are in for some great stuff for sure!

So as of now, I am done being a part of the front line team of God Complex Radio. I will continue to interact with the GCR community and will use all my social media juice to spread the word. I will also return on occasion as a ranting and opinionated correspondent and pundit.

As I bid farewell to this stage of my life, I want to offer my deepest thanks to Brian Merritt, Mark Smith and Heather Scott who were part of this craziness at the beginning. And of course to my co-horts in crime, Carol and Landon, I will miss our early morning banter, our bouts of uncontrollable laughter and, yes, I’ll even miss all the technical difficulties that gave us a common enemy Above all, I will miss being part of this particular venue where we have offered our collective voice of faith to the church and world. I will forever be grateful for our time together.

So that’ all for now. Thanks for the memories and I’ll see you all around the interwebs. As always you can catch me on Twitter, Facebook and my blog.

6/1 update from Carol Howard Merritt: So… I had a major lack of sleep when recording this show, and when it came out, I felt frustrated that my critiques were geared toward Nadia personally. I have great respect for Nadia and I felt awkward because it seemed like I was critiquing her when she was out of the room and could not defend herself. I meant my comments to be geared toward all of us who are trying to leave Evangelicalism, and create something else, but my wording sucked. I apologized to Nadia, and she graciously accepted my apology. We will have a follow-up on this show… where Nadia can get the last word!

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1:09: Daniel Tutt, Project Manager for 20,000 Dialogues, shares a story of interfaith dialogue from the Middle Ages.7:20: Carol introduces the theme of the episode andEboo Patel, Executive Director of Interfaith Youth Core and author of Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation8:54: Part 1 of Carol’s interview with Eboo Patel: Growing up Muslim in USAmerica; Finding religious identity; Influence of parents and grandmother; moving beyond Islam as a “series of rules”; the “youth bulge”21:00: Bruce and Carol reflect on Part 133:00: Part 2 of Carol’s interview with Eboo Patel: The work of Interfaith Youth Core; milestones in the history of IFYC; pluralism vs. diversity – “Diversity is simply a fact”; why IFYC work on campuses; hopes of the interfaith youth movement49:00: Bruce and Carol reflect on Part 21:06:08 Promo of next weeks episode with Callid Keefe-Perry to talk about theopoetics

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0:00: Carol speaks with pastor Beth Sentell about a vision she had while giving birth to her son5:45: Carol introduces the theme of the episode and Bishop John Shelby Spong7:51: John Shelby Spong shares how he responds to criticism of his thoughts and writings; “for most people religion is the search for security and not the search for truth”12:45: Spong: “Death is a universal experience”; “The presuppositions of the tradition way a viewing life after death have been destroyed”20:20: Bruce and Carol reflect on Part 1 of Spong interview31:21: Spong: “I don’t think Christianity…will ever give me peace of mind or certainty or security…it will give me the courage to live in a world that is always insecure.”35:00: “I seek to reach those who want to live in a 21st century world with a 21st century mind”; “We’ve created God after our own image”; Sin and guilt are not healthy50:39: Bruce and Carol reflect on Part 2 of Spong interview1:05:20: Bruce and Carol speak with Melissa DeRosia about the recent Supreme Court decision on campaign spending, the trial over California’s Proposition 8, and the forthcoming Presbyterian Church report on Civil Unions/Christian Marriage1:30:19: Promo for next week’s episode: Carol talks with author and religious leader Samir Selmanovic (It’s Really All About God: Reflections of a Muslim Atheist Jewish Christian about embracing “The Other.”

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0:00: Bruce speaks with pastor Abby King-Kaiser about how her art intersect with her ministry4:56: Bruce introduces the theme of the episode and Brian McLaren6:31: Brian McLaren shares how he began writing – “a sense of pain and unpreparedness”; church members asking questions about postmodernism and deconstructionism8:32: McLaren shares the various reactions to several of his books10:00: McLaren: “I thought Generous Orthodoxy was a safe book that no one will disagree with”11:28: “Almost anything can be forgiven except the failure to maintain the same list of enemies”12:00: McLaren shares how he deals with his critics; forgoing the right to fair treatment19:00: Bruce and Carol reflect on Part 1 of McLaren interview25:30: McLaren’s thoughts on pastors dealing with difficulty in their present position30:00: McLaren emphasizes spiritual practice as a prerequisite to following God’s call; silence and solitude34:42: McLaren reflects on “the Death of the Emergent Church”43:00: Bruce and Carol reflect on Part 2 of McLaren interview52:45: Bruce and Carol speak with Fritz Gutwein about the earthquake in Haiti1:10:08: Promo for next week’s episode: Carol interviews Bishop John Shelby Spong about his book Eternal Life: A New Vision: Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell